The New Year ceremony for the agents of the City, the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, and the Communal Social Action Center, as well as their families, took place last night at the Palais Nikaia in front of over 7,000 people. The event was attended notably by Adolphe Corat, Eric Ciotti, President of the General Council, several OGC Nice players, their president Jean-Pierre Rivère, and their coach Claude Puel. The now-unmissable Camille Muffat brilliantly completed the representation of the sports world.
The atmosphere was part festive (with a charming and friendly confusion at times) and part solemn, with municipal and metropolitan officials aligned in order like a “nomenklatura” from other times (this allowed for the observation of the rare presence of young people and women, even less so both conditions combined, and the predominant presence of senior ‘citizens’ adorned with a gray notoriety. When will there be a deep renewal?), the (very elegant) Prefect Anne Bocquet, Director of City and Metropolis Services, inaugurated the evening with a few well-crafted remarks before handing the floor to Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Metropolis.
Traditionally, this ceremony was an opportunity for Christian Estrosi to conduct an operation that combined a complete inventory of the past year’s accomplishments with the announcement of those to come in the following year, and an exercise in audience democracy with the public attending politics turned into a show.
But this time, electoral conduct codes obligated that the wishes could only be wishes, which benefitted the sobriety of the speech, kept within a perfectly acceptable time, thus maintaining the audience’s attention.
We had, therefore, an abundance of thanks and other wishes to military and civil authorities, elected officials, collaborators, and all those present. No drums, and even less trumpets, last night; there was finally room for ecumenism.
In skillfully acknowledging the work and commitment of the agents, Christian Estrosi did not forget—how could it be imagined otherwise—a slight (auto)congratulation for the “transformation” of “this land of Nice, the mountains, and the valleys… one of the most beautiful in the world.”
“Beautiful and free” like the eagle which, perhaps symbolically, instead of joining its falconer on stage as the script called for, chose to soar over the hall and freely listen to the choirs of the Opera singing ‘Nissa la Bella’ on stage.
And finally, after a giant raffle which made hundreds happy and an endless photo session of the Bauthéac-Bosetti duo, as comfortable in the public as on the field, it was time for the show whose title could summarize the coming months: Mamma Mia!
Photo credit: https://christian-estrosi.com
